Gary is still improving every day, but has setbacks from confusion and frustration. He will more than likely go home sometime in September so Mia is preparing the house for his homecoming. She seems to think that he'll improve more in the home setting than in the rehab. He doesn't seem to be able to get a good night's sleep there due to so much going on and so many lights on. He continually asks to go home now and that's a good sign that he's ready.

He will have home therapy three times a week and someone will be with him all of the time. He can do a lot for himself now (he even clipped his own fingernails yesterday!) so his coordination is improving. He hasn't mastered standing or walking yet, so keep praying for that to take place.

Bill and I are getting ready for church so we'll send more information later. Please keep up the prayers and cards. He appreciated the cards and pics of his high school reunion, Mia said and likes to look at them. Thanks so much to all of you who took part in that.

Much love and thanks to God and all of you for bringing him back to us,

Nancy and Bill

I'm sorry to be so lax in posting to the blog, but I've been rather busy lately and I do intend to do better.

Gary is still improving every day and is becoming more aware (at times) of what happened to him. When he does realize the seriousness of what happened, he becomes very emotional and sometimes gets very upset that he can't get up and go home. He asked Mia the other evening when she started to leave why he couldn't go home, too. It breaks her heart to have to be at work all day and only get to see him from 4:30 until 8:00 p.m. She does get to help him with his evening meal and he does recognize her as his wife (by correct name) now and I think that makes her feel much better.

She misses getting to know the day nurses, therapists, etc. who work with him since she's not there when they are on duty. She has gotten to know the evening personnel, though, and that helps a lot.

The recent tests that Gary had have all come back good and that's very encouraging. The docs have set a go-home goal of September 17, but that's ONLY a goal and can change as they work with him and try to get him back on his feet. They encourage the family members to let him do as much as he can on his own and not do things for him. Mia says that it's probably good that she's not there during the day because he depended on her for a lot of things when she was with him every day all during the day.

Please continue to pray for Gary that he'll cooperate with the therapists and continue to fight and try to do what they tell him to do. Pray for Mia that she'll be healed of her allergies/asthma which have taken a hold on her and won't let go. She's being treated by her allergy specialist, but she doesn't seem to be responding to the treatment.

Pray for Bill and me as we're sort of on standby until Mia gives the word that she needs us to come out again.

We thank you all for your continued prayers and love for Gary and his family,

Nancy and Bill

P.S. God is continuing to work and we thank Him so much!!!

Here's the most recent e-mail from Mia:

Hello"Just a quick email to let you know that Gary passed the evaluation and was accepted into Northridge Rehab Center. He was transferred last night. Still getting settled in at Northridge but will write again with additional info, room and updates. Overall, looks like he will be busy from 8-4pm every day except Sundays. Visiting hours are from 12-8pm but as noted will be in various therapies until 4pm. More to follow in the next update.-Mia

Note from Nancy -

Please pray hard for Gary this week during this transition. Sometimes he doesn't fully understand what's taking place with all the changes and this upsets him. Pray that he'll have understanding therapists working with him who have lots of patience. Also, pray for his muscle strength as they prepare him for standing and walking.

Thanks to all of you, Nancy and Bill

I talked with Mia today and she said that Gary is improving everyday and will be transferred to another type of rehabilitation facility next week. On Tuesday, Mia toured one in Northridge which is a little closer to their home and was very impressed with the program there. She said the area of the hospital where Gary will be is a 36 bed facility and he would have a roommate. She was hoping for another private room for him, but in this place he will be kept in therapy for a large amount of the day anyway, so the room situation won't be so important.

Mia does plan to return to her job next week and will not be with Gary during the better part of every day as she has been for the entire time that Gary has been hospitalized. She plans to try to arrange her schedule so that she can go in to work early and leave early enough to get to Gary by late afternoon and evening. Of course her boys will be home then and she's going to be trying to burn candles at both ends. Please pray for her that things will work out for this transition.

Bill and I have told her that we would be glad to come out and help again for a while if she needs us. All she has to do is say the word.

We appreciate all of you who have continued to pray for Gary and show concern for both him and Mia, as well as all of our family here in Arkansas. God has answered so many of our prayers and we thank Him so much.

With love,

Bill and Nancy

Hello:
Gary has had a busy week with continued improvement each day. Although some days are met with much agitation he has more windows/periods of cognitive and physical breakthroughs. See attached photo.

Yesterday (Friday) was one of the breakthroughs and he took another big leap in physical and speech therapy. Those that know how difficult it is for Gary to move from a sitting position to a standing position can appreciate the complexity and strength it takes him to get upright. The physical therapist has been working with him to strengthen his upper body to prepare him to use a table to help stand and for the first time yesterday he managed to do 15 very difficult table push ups. This is a BIG step!

Cognitively he continues to amaze us all. While he may not always recognize me, others or pictures/objects by name, he is able to identify via reading. He is now reading print, as well as handwriting and we pass time by reading all the cards, well wishes, hand written notes and emails. His since of humor does come out from time to time and we both laughed when he finally realized after many hours of his insisting he was correct, to his amazement No my name was not “Cheesecake”. The crazy thing is that as the day progressed I started to respond to being called “Hey Cheesecake”. However, when I left that evening I was once again Mia. I think I will bring him a slice of cheesecake today.

Other recent highlights, he is now able to perform many of the ADLs (activities of daily living) feed himself, brush his teeth, shave with an electric razor etc. And. . . . THE BIG NEWS. . . . . it looks like he will be transferred to the next phase of rehabilitation and move to a new rehab facility next week. Kindred hospital is an acute phase hospital that specialized in respiratory care (ventilated/trached patients). Thus, now that Gary is over the “acute” phase he is ready for the next step. Although it will be a difficult transition for me as I have grown to trust/love the staff and environment at Kindred, this is another HUGE milestone for Gary. The next place specializes in brain injury rehabilitation and will focus more on PT, OT, cognitive and speech therapy. We still have a few options to choose from but it looks like we are leaning toward Northridge Rehab facility as they have a very good reputation and other patients from Kindred have reported very positive results. Plus with Leah being the star goalkeeper for Northridge woman’s soccer, I’m hoping we will be able to have outings and catch some of her practices/home games which I know Gary would love. reputation, its 5 minutes from where Leah lives/goes to school and only 20 minutes from our home (and we don’t have to drive on the 101 or 405 freeways!).

I’ll write again later this week. Until then sending much love and appreciation to the amazing healing network (in multiple states and countries) of friends, family, extended families, church members, people we have not met but have prayed for Gary’s recovery. Ten weeks ago the prognosis was poor, five weeks ago they (doctors) were not sure he would come off the ventilator. Look at him now! It truly is a miracle to witness the wonderful recovery. If I could hug every one of you I would, but for now you will have to settle for a virtual hug. XOXO, -Mia

Just talked with Mia a little while ago and she and Gary were sitting outside again. He talked with me some and told me that it was hot and they were sitting outside today. He was having a better day today than yesterday. Mia said he only has one tube left and that's a feeding tube in the stomach which is very short, but he keeps trying to get it out! Therefore, he has to wear the mitts on his hands and that frustrates him and then he gets mad! (I can't say that I blame him!) Mia is trying to get the docs to remove that last tube but they want to make sure he's tolerating solid foods well enough before they take it out. They said maybe in a few days it'll be out, too.

He sounded really good and told me he loved me when he hung up. However, earlier in the conversation, I was talking away and he got tired of listening to me and just gave the phone to Mia. lol Mia says he's reading a lot and seems to comprehend all that he reads. He's still having some problems identifying some items on the cards that the therapist gives him to look at.

Please keep praying for him to get the tube out and also for strength for him to get up from a chair when he's seated at a table. He is very weak from being in bed for over two months and it's going to take some time and patience, but we all know he can do it with the Lord's help.

Thanks to everyone!

Love, Bill and Nancy

Gary has enjoyed more days outside, free from the tubes! (see attached photo)


The last few days have brought out emotions. Although difficult to experience, the emotion is actually another positive milestone as it demonstrates that area of the brain is functioning appropriately. He is beginning to realize (at times) the impact of what has happened and as you might imagine this has stirred up various emotions including anger, frustration, laughter and tears. I have experienced his challenges as wife and best friend but I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to try and attempt to do something that once was a natural action but now met with extreme difficulty. He asks what happened, however he has yet to realize/grasp how far he has come in the past 2 months. Prior to May 13th (cardiac arrest), Gary amazed me/us with all that he has conquered living with dermatomyocitis. We all know he is a fighter with an amazing will and determination. Although the recent challenges have created new obstacles I am confident he will overcome and prevail. He is surrounded by lots of love, tremendous support and encouragement including the staff, clinicians, family and friends. He is truly an inspiration to all. I have to share one very touching moment yesterday was when he realized/really saw the amount of support, prayers, and well wishes (cards, emails) posted around the room. He was very touched by the volume of support. We truly appreciate the continued prayers, love and well wishes.
With much love and strength,
-Mia